Public demand for wireless communications has grown at a tremendous rate. An increasing number of people rely on their wireless phones and other devices for an increasing number of uses including voice, messaging, data, video, and internet access. This enormous public demand has in turn fueled the need for additional carrier antenna sites to provide expanded wireless coverage to communities.
As the need for additional antenna sites has grown, so too has the installation restrictions set by many municipalities. Wireless carriers are being required to place their transceiver equipment in an aesthetically pleasing manner. In many municipalities the planning departments are unwilling to grant permit applications for unsightly tower installations. There is also a growing tendency for many of these municipalities to require even the smallest of transceiver circuitry units to be placed underground, and for the antennas to be disguised or stealthed.
The units housing the transceiver or transmitting and receiving circuitry for wireless communications systems come in different sizes, and have different power and transceiver configurations. The standard or “macro-cell” unit is a compact base transceiver station (“BTS”), which stores six (6) to eight (8) transceivers or radios requiring 1800 to 2200 watts of power. The smallest unit currently used, primarily where a mono-pole transceiver system is inappropriate, is a “micro-cell”, which typically houses one (1) to two (2) transceivers requiring 170 to 600 watts of power. To meet the restrictions imposed by the municipalities, these macro- and micro-cell units are placed in self contained, sealed subterranean vaults. These may be made of concrete or steel.
The problem with any self-contained, sealed underground vault is that the telecommunications equipment enclosed therein generates heat, which ultimately damages or destroys the equipment. Moisture, either from evaporation or flooding from rain, can also damage or destroy the equipment. These problems are typically solved by using an air conditioner and dehumidifier in conjunction with a water pump. However, in the case of flooding, if the pump is unable to keep up with incoming flow or water, the telecommunications equipment can become submerged in water and ultimately damaged or destroyed.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide the wireless communications industry with a vault to house telecommunications equipment underground that maintains proper climate control for equipment longevity and protects the equipment against flooding.